§ 19-6. Hospitality fee.
(a)
Establishment and imposition of hospitality fee. There is established a uniform service charge, hereinafter referred to as the "hospitality fee," equal to one and one-half (1.5) percent within the geographic confines of the county, and an additional imposition equal to one (1) percent within the unincorporated areas of the county only; such rates shall apply to and be imposed on:
(1)
The gross proceeds derived from the rental or charges for any rooms, camp ground spaces, lodgings, or sleeping accommodations furnished to transients by any motel, inn, tourist court, tourist camp, motel, campground, residence, or any place in which rooms, lodging, or sleeping accommodations are furnished to transients for a consideration within the county to which the sales tax imposed by the State of South Carolina pursuant to S.C. Code § 12-36-920 applies;
(2)
Those paid admissions to places of amusement within the county to which the admissions tax imposed by the State of South Carolina pursuant to S.C. Code § 12-21-2420 et seq. applies; and
(3)
The gross proceeds derived from the sale of prepared food and beverages sold for immediate consumption either on or off premises; or maintain licenses for the on-premise consumption of alcohol, beer or wine.
The hospitality fee shall be imposed at a rate equal to two and one-half (2.5) percent within the geographic confines of the county solely with regard to:
(1)
The gross proceeds derived from rental companies engaged in the business of renting private passenger motor vehicles to a renter for a consideration within the county. The proceeds derived from the lease or rental of a private passenger motor vehicle supplied to the same person for a period of ninety (90) continuous days are not considered proceeds. "Rental company" means any individual, firm, partnership or corporation in the business of providing private passenger automobiles to the public under the terms of a rental agreement. "Private passenger motor vehicle" means any private passenger motor vehicle, including passenger vans and mini-vans, that is intended primarily for the transport of persons on public roads and highways.
(b)
Payment of the hospitality fee. Payment of the hospitality fee shall be the liability of the consumer of the services. The hospitality fee shall be paid at that time of the delivery of the services to which the hospitality fee applies, shall be collected by the provider of the services, and shall be held in trust by the provider until remitted as provided for herein.
(c)
Collection of fees.
(1)
Requirement to make filing and payment. Each person liable for any fee shall (a) make a true and correct return to the county in such form as it may prescribe and (b) remit such fee therewith.
(2)
When due. Any hospitality fee imposed herein is due and payable:
a.
In monthly installments on or before the twentieth day of each month; or
b.
In thirteen (13) installments payable on or before the twentieth day following the period covered by the return on sales for the previous reporting period. This payment option requires thirteen (13) payments in each calendar year. For those persons electing to pay in thirteen installments (every four (4) weeks), payments for each period are due on or before the twentieth day after the conclusion of the four-calendar-week period for which payment is due.
The return shall be due at the same time the fee is due and payable.
c.
When the twentieth day is a Saturday, Sunday or other day, the county is not open for regular business, the fee is due on the following day the county is open for regular business.
(3)
Manner and location of payment . Fee payments shall be made by mail, in-person at facilities designated by the county administrator, or electronically. County council, by resolution, may establish mandatory electronic filing for certain classes of payers.
(4)
Timely filing and payment . A return and the payment due therewith are considered to be timely if (i) the return and payment are mailed and such mailing has a postmark dated on or before the date the return is required to be filed, or (ii) the county actually receives the return and payment (a) at a physical location designated by the county administrator, or (b) electronically in a manner selected by the county administrator. The burden of demonstrating the timeliness of the filing and payment and presentation of a corroborating proof of mailing or receipt demonstrating the same is the responsibility of the person making payment.
(5)
Failure to file return. In the case of a failure to file the return, the county shall make a return upon such information as it may be able to obtain, assess the fee due thereon, and assess a late filing penalty (the "failure to file penalty") upon the entire fee then due, whereupon the county shall mail such notice to the person liable for the fee. Such payment shall be due within ten (10) days of the postmark of such return.
The failure to file penalty shall be calculated as:
(A x B) x C = the Failure to File Penalty
Where "A" represents the amount of the entire then due fee, "B" represents the daily penalty in percentage terms calculated on the basis of a ten (10) percent per month penalty assuming a thirty-day month (0.333%), and "C" represents the number of calendar days from the date the filing was due to the date of the filing and payment of the failure to file penalty. The amount of the failure to file penalty for any period shall not exceed twenty (20) percent of the fee due for that period.
(6)
Failure to timely file return. In the case of late filing of the return, the county shall assess a late filing penalty (the "late filing penalty") upon the entire fee then due.
The late filing penalty shall be calculated as:
(D x E) x F = the Late Filing Penalty
Where "D" represents the amount of the entire then due fee, "E" represents the daily penalty in percentage terms calculated on the basis of a ten (10) percent per month penalty assuming a thirty-day month (0.333%), and "F" represents the number of calendar days from the date the filing was due to the date of the payment of the fee, the late filing penalty, and any late payment penalty. The amount of the late filing penalty for any period shall not exceed twenty (20) percent of the fee due for that period.
(7)
Failure to pay. In the case of failure to pay the entirety of any fee when due, the county shall add a late payment penalty (the "late payment penalty").
The late payment penalty shall be calculated as:
(X Y) x Z = the Late Payment Penalty
Where "X" represents the amount of the entire fee due for the period in question less any accepted partial payment, "Y" represents the daily penalty in percentage terms calculated on the basis of a ten (10) percent per month penalty assuming a thirty-day month (0.333%), and "Z" represents the number of calendar days from the date the payment was due to the date of the payment of such fee, and the late payment penalty. There shall be no limit on the amount of the late payment penalty unless fees found to be due under an audit. The failure to pay penalty on fees found to be due under audit shall not exceed twenty-five (25) percent if paid within ten (10) days of the county's assessment, then the failure to pay penalty is not capped on the unpaid fee from the 11th day until the taxes are paid. An underpayment amount created by filing an amended return is subject to the failure to pay penalty for the underpayment amount.
(d)
Inspections and audit. For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this hospitality fee and local accommodations fee ordinance, the county administrator or other authorized agent of the county, is empowered to enter upon the premises of any person subject to this section and to make inspections, examinations and audits of books and records, and it shall be unlawful for any person to fail or refuse to make available the necessary books and records during normal business hours upon twenty-four (24) hours' written notice. In the event that an audit reveals that false information has been filed by the remitter, the costs of the audit shall be added to the correct amount of any fees determined to be due, in addition to the penalties provided in subsection (c) above. The county administrator or other authorized agent of the county may make systematic inspection of all businesses within the county, to ensure compliance with this section. Records of inspection shall not be deemed public records.
(e)
Violations.
(1)
It is a violation of this section to:
a.
Fail to collect any fee;
b.
Fail to remit to the county any fee collected;
c.
Fail to file any fee return;
d.
Knowingly provide false information on any fee return;
e.
Fail to provide books and records to the county administrator or other authorized agent of the county for the purpose of in inspection, examination, or audit after twenty-four (24) hours' written notice.
(2)
Each day this section is violated constitutes a separate offense.
(3)
Upon conviction of this section, the violator is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine or forfeiture not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both.
(f)
Administration of fees. The county administrator is responsible for the implementation, collection, and enforcement of the fees through any legally available means as may be available to the county, including, without limitation, the Setoff Debt Collection Act, codified at Title 12, Chapter 56 of the South Carolina Code and Governmental Enterprise Accounts Receivable (GEAR), codified at S.C. Code § 12-4-580.
(g)
Administrative fee. The costs of collecting the monies may be reimbursed by the fund monies, up to a maximum of one (1) percent.
(h)
Disposition of hospitality fee . All revenues collected from the hospitality fee shall be deposited or allocated as follows:
(1)
The funds derived from the one and one-half (1.5) percent hospitality fee shall be deposited into a road special revenue fund which will be used to implement a comprehensive road plan adopted by the county in concert with the municipalities of the county. Interest generated by this road special revenue fund shall accrue to the fund.
(2)
The funds derived from the one (1) percent fee shall be specifically allocated within the county's budget to offset the cost of public safety and public works services and infrastructure directly impacted by tourism.
In the case of disposition of funds, the costs of collecting the monies may be reimbursed by the fund monies, up to a maximum of one (1) percent.
(i)
Penalty waiver.
(1)
A penalty may be waived by the county administrator or his designee if the delay or failure to file or pay was caused by reliance on erroneous written or oral advice given by a county employee to the licensee or fee remitter, if accurate and complete facts were given to the employee, there is no change in law, and the licensee or fee remitter provides supporting documentation, such as a copy of the licensee or fee remitter's question to the employee and the advice provided by the employee. A penalty will not be waived if the advice was oral, unless the employee verifies that all the facts were provided and that he gave the advice.
(2)
The county administrator or his designee may waive a penalty that is de minimis in nature.
(j)
Use of hospitality fee revenues . Receipts of the hospitality fee shall be expended only for a purpose or purposes identified below:
(1)
Tourism-related buildings including, but not limited to, civic centers, coliseums, and aquariums;
(2)
Tourism-related cultural, recreational, or historic facilities;
(3)
Beach access and renourishment;
(4)
Highways, roads, streets, and bridges providing access to tourist destinations;
(5)
Advertisements and promotions related to tourism development;
(6)
Water and sewer infrastructure to serve tourism-related demand; or
(7)
Operation and maintenance of police, fire protection, emergency medical services, and emergency-preparedness operations directly attendant to the forgoing (1) through (6).
(k)
Amnesty period.
(1)
In order to encourage the voluntary disclosure and payment of fees owed to the county, the county council finds it desirable to allow the county to designate an amnesty period which has a beginning and ending date from time to time as determined by a resolution of county council. During the amnesty period, the county shall waive the penalties and interest or portion of them at its discretion imposed pursuant to Chapter 12.5—Licenses and Business Regulations and 19.6—Hospitality Fee for a licensee or fee remitter who voluntarily files delinquent returns and pays all fees owed. If the county establishes an amnesty period pursuant to this section, it must adopt a resolution of the amnesty period at least sixty (60) days before the commencement of the amnesty period.
(2)
The county shall grant amnesty to a licensee or fee remitter who files a request for an amnesty form and:
a.
Voluntarily files a current license or fee return and pays in full all fees due;
b.
Voluntarily files an amended license or fee return to correct an incorrect or insufficient original return and pays all fees due; or
c.
Voluntarily pays in full all previously assessed fee liabilities due within an extended amnesty period which begins at the close of the amnesty period and runs for a period of time as determined by the county. The administrator or his designee may set up installment agreements as long as all fees are paid within this period. An installment agreement must be agreed upon before the close of the amnesty period established.
(3)
The county shall not waive penalties and interest attributable to any one filing period if the licensee or fee remitter has outstanding liabilities for other periods.
(4)
A licensee or fee remitter that is currently under audit by the county is not eligible for amnesty for those periods being audited.
(5)
The county may review all cases in which amnesty has been granted and may on the basis of mutual mistake of fact, fraud, or misrepresentation rescind the grant of amnesty. A licensee or fee remitter who files false or fraudulent returns or attempts in any manner to defeat or evade a fee under the amnesty program is subject to applicable civil penalties, interest, and criminal prosecution.
(Ord. No. 105-96, § 1, 10-15-96; Ord. No. 7-97, §§ 1—4, 2-4-97; Ord. No. 76-97, §§ 1, 2, 8-5-97; Ord. No. 80-01, § 1, 6-19-01; Ord. No. 93-16, §§ I, IV, 12-6-16; Ord. No. 24-18, §§ 1—3, 5, 4-3-18)